


Adrian Ace: Minerva's Mark

by mad_hatter_9306



Category: Percy Jackson and the Olympians - Rick Riordan, The Heroes of Olympus - Rick Riordan
Genre: Book 3: The Mark of Athena (Heroes of Olympus), Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Rating May Change, Tags May Change, but fair warning, but i dont think so, but you know that one line in mark of athena?, guys im sorry, has this been done yet? idk, honestly i have no idea what im doing, i just. had an idea, i think adrian is destined for guinea-pig-ness, like... maybe?, no beta we die like JASON FREAKIN GRACE, not sure, please bear with me, rodency?, sorry - Freeform, this is that kid, very low chance of a happy ending, we'll see, when reyna mentions that one kid driven mad by the mark?, yep
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-02-04
Updated: 2021-02-04
Packaged: 2021-03-16 03:01:08
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 946
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29200254
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/mad_hatter_9306/pseuds/mad_hatter_9306
Summary: "When I lived on Circe's island, we had many visitors. Once, perhaps a year before you and Percy arrived, a young man washed ashore. He was half mad from thirst and heat. He'd been drifting at sea for days. His words didn't make much sense, but he said he was a son of Athena.""What happened to this demigod?""Circe turned him into a guinea pig, of course. He made quite a crazy little rodent. But before that, he kept raving about his failed quest. He claimed that he'd gone to Rome, following the Mark of Athena."-------Adrian Ace is a son of Athena. He has been tasked by his formidable mother to save her by following her mark: the Mark of Athena. Alongside his friends Gabby and Natalie, they'll travel the world, on a hunt nobody has ever survived. Will Adrian be the first? Or will he, like his predecessors, dissolve into the same madness plaguing the goddess herself?





	Adrian Ace: Minerva's Mark

**Author's Note:**

> i. am sorry? this is seriously just me desperate for a project. i'm gonna wing it like mad. i have no idea what im doing. well, i hope you enjoy adrian ace, natalie, and gabby. also im sorry for the huge amount of tags, and the weird summary. i just pulled the dialog from mark of athena, 'cus that's what inspired this.
> 
> right. enjoy! hopefully.

Adrian Ace was unclaimed. He thought for sure that he belonged in the Athena cabin. How could he not, with his blond hair, stony gray eyes, and quick mind? But no matter how much he begged and pled with Chiron, he remained squished between two other unclaimed boys.

"I'm sorry, my boy," Chiron would say distractedly. "You can't move into the Athena cabin without being claimed. Who knows, you could be a son of Apollo. Or possibly one of the minor gods." He would canter away, leaving Adrian behind in the stupid old Hermes cabin.

The one comfort was his friend Gabby. She was unclaimed, too. And her sleeping bag, squeezed between two others just like it, was right across the cabin from his. Gabby and Adrian often stayed up late, talking about anything and everything. Gabby seemed different in the night, especially around new moons. She was more alive. Her dark brown eyes shone from her pale face. Her curly black hair gained some bounce. She said her mother was Nyx, that she was a child of the night. Adrian believed her. But Nyx was a minor goddess, and didn't have a cabin of her own. So Gabby and Adrian stayed in the rickety Hermes cabin, shoved in the corners like all the other unclaimed campers that nobody seemed to want.

Well. Almost nobody.

There was one claimed camper that enjoyed their company. Natalie, daughter of Dionysus. She specialized in madness, which often meant that she wasn't quite right in the head. Oddly enough, Adrian and Gabby trusted her. More often than not, her crazy plans ended up working. Of course, there was the incident of 2009, which none of them liked to talk about, when one of Natalie's ideas went horribly awry. But nine times out of ten, they were okay.

(Mr. D. secretly worried about that tenth time, but he was a god, and he couldn't interfere with their fates. Besides, he might come off as actually caring about the little brats, gods forbid.)

Like all demigods, Adrian was plagued by dreams most nights. Some nights, Chris muttered next to him, flailing and groaning and keeping him awake. Some nights, when the new moon was at its peak, Gabby would mutter a simple spell over herself and her two friends, and they would sleep peacefully. But most nights, nightmares kept him tossing and turning, waking him at the worst times.

One night, one dream was different from the rest. It was sharper, more vivid, in clearer detail. He was in a subway station, surrounded by busy, bustling commuters. But there was one person who wasn't moving. A tall woman, with an almost regal air about her, stood like a statue, reading the subway map. Platinum blonde hair, held in a high ponytail, cascaded down her back. Sharp gray eyes studied the map. She wore jeans and an orange hoodie. She looked like Annabeth Chase, the Athena counselor.

Adrian approached her slowly, like a cornered animal. She turned toward him, and stared. There was an odd, blank look in those clear silver eyes. She spoke, her voice reverberating around the subway station, carrying over the rushing people surrounding them.

"I am the goddess Athena, lady of strategy and battle tactics. I am the wisdom goddess. And you, Adrian Ace, are my son."

Adrian didn't know what to say. He tried to stammer a reply, a thank-you, anything. But before he could make the words tumble out, something happened to Athena.

She flickered, her appearance changing. Her blonde hair darkened to a dark chocolate brown, her hoodie changed from orange to purple. Her voice went up a little bit as she said: "You must avenge me! They ruined me, stole away my power, my identity! They made me this, a craftsman, a mere artist. And they gave all of my strategy and battle planning to that upstart Bellona."

"W- who did? Who did this to you, my lady?"

Athena's appearance settled again on the blond. She said fiercely, "The Romans." She handed Adrian a gold coin. It burned in his hand, so he slipped it into his pocket. It kept burning.

People began walking in between Adrian and Athena. Adrian fought to move toward her, but he was swept away by the wave of foot traffic. Athena called to him, her voice fading, "Avenge me!"

Adrian woke up with a jolt. He panted a bit, trying to catch his breath. Something burned in his pocket. He pulled the gold coin out and studied it. It had an owl on one side, and Greek letters on the other. It was warm in his palm, pulsing with a slight glow.

On the other side of the cabin, Gabby sat up, rubbing her eyes. Adrian motioned toward the front of the cabin. Gabby nodded.

Quietly, carefully, they inched towards the front door. They sat outside, under the light of the silver crescent moon. Adrian told Gabby about his dream, and showed her the coin.

"What are you going to do?"

Adrian hesitated. "Um. Search for her, I guess?"

Gabby nodded, like she thought it was a good plan. Adrian breathed a quiet sigh of relief. Gabby was pretty smart. If she thought it was a good plan, then he felt much more confident.

"I'd like you to come with me," he said. "You and Natalie."

She looked up, a bit surprised. "But it's your quest. You're the son of Athena."

"Yeah, keyword 'quest.' A quest needs three people, or it'll go wrong. Those are the rules, you know that. So what do you say?"

Gabby paused, then set her jaw. She looked at Adrian. She grinned. "I'm in."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> and! here's the first chapter of Adrian Ace. weird name, i know, but don't get onto me pls. i just noticed that the athena kids have an interesting pattern of surnames ending in an "ace" sound (chase and pace). I'm happy with my choice.
> 
> um, i cannot, will not promise any sort of posting schedule. i'll post whenever i feel like it. hope y'all don't mind. i haven't written any of this up before hand, and i only have a vague idea of a plan. i hope y'all enjoy the adventures of adrian, gabby, and natalie. comments and/or kudos would be simply lovely. have a nice day!!


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